COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTIONSpiced holiday beer just in time for the festive season, itís full bodied, quite sweet, and loaded with goodies. A touch of cranberry here, a dash of cinnamon there, a generous dose of dry hops and some cloves for good measure, contribute to the happiest beer of the year.

UPDATED: NOV 20, 2006 On tap at the GLI. Poured a medium, cloudy reddish-brown color with a smaller off white head. Aromas and tastes of malts, fruits and spices. Nutmeg the stronger spice with cinnamon. The body was a little thin.

Tasted on 11/20 (the 2nd runnings tastings). Cinnamon definitely stronger this time around. 8% very well hidden. My ratings on my notes were close enough that Iím not changing it...

Non-cask version on tap at GLI. Pours turbid brown with medium tan head. Big aroma of malt, tons of fruit and spices, including pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cranberries. Tastes malty, with cranberries, huge pumpkin, cloves, cinnamon, and orange. The best pumpkin taste I have ever experienced in a beer. Great complexity, with a firm, spicy palate. This is a great spiced ale, a great pumpkin ale, and a great ale in general.

Transparent dark copper amber with ruby hues and a nicely-lacing off-white froth of head. Aroma of sweet ginger and clove with some caramel malt and a touch of nutmeg. Body starts thick and well-spiced with a good bit of earthy dark caramel and some lightly tart cranberries. A good holiday ale with nice complexity of flavors and balance.

Cask, without spices and fruit... Poured a deep caramel color with a medium sized, off white head and nice lacing on the glass. Medicinal, blackberry, cardboardy aroma. Taste was lightly bitter, with more berries as well. This was very disappointing, I assume they should not put this on, until it has spices and fruit it in.

On tap at the brewery. Sour vinegar and tart fruity nose on this, with some soy sauce. Odd tangy quality to this one for sure. Smells like a sour ale more than anything, with some woody presence. Dark cloudy amber-brown, with thin off-white head. Medium watery body with medium carbonation. Quite an interesting mix of flavors - reminding me of the fruitcake taste from an early-90s Amry MRE. Cranberry and orange peels, cinammon and a nutty bitter quality, clove, and sweet short bread. Very interesting and I’m not sure if I could drink a lot of this. Mild fruity tart finish with little bitterness. Not bad, but not a fave.

Reddish-amber color with a very spicy aroma that features some sugar & cinnamon. Flavor is sweet, bready and spicy with Nutmeg, allspice, and some cinnamon. OK. but toning down the spices would improve this one.

Butterscotch Scents dominate the aroma of this fine seasonal brew. The tasting yields both the butterscotch flavoring as well as vanilla overtones. Smooth finish ends clean without too much sweetness. Overall an great seasonal beer!

This years batch was brewed w/ the second runnings of a 275th anniversary brew that will be released in 2007. The abv is bumped up from the posted amount(now 8 %)...man that anniversary brew must be potent as heck. I canít wait!
Appears a murky, reddish brown, with a 2 finger, tan head that slowly fades out. Lots of lacing is scattered around the pint glass.
Smell is of the anticipated cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, highligted by cranberries. I was also getting a whiff of juniper berries in there but all those mulling spices may just be playing tricks on my mind before the holidays arrive.
Taste is of the mentioned aromas in a slightly fruity, malty, brown sugar infused flavor that seems to be what they were shooting for.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, spicy, smooth, with decent CO2 levels that lead to a semi-dry finish of cinnamon and nutmeg.

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